Lobclaw

Lobclaws are Decepticons from the Super-God Masterforce portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

Bob Lobclaw Lobs Claw Bomb.

Lobclaws (ロブクロウ Robukurō) are devoid of sentience, like all the Seacons commanded by Turtler, serving only as mindless mass-produced drone warriors designed to overwhelm their opponents by numbers. While all Seacons are fairly fragile creatures, not designed for sustained combat, Lobclaws exemplify this expendability more than most, equipped as they are with internal self-destruct systems that allow them to take their enemies down with them. These suicide bombers of the sea are quite sluggish, though, so they tend to make more use of their powerful claws and whip-like "feelers".

The Lobclaws can combine with their fellow Seacons to form King Poseidon.

Fiction

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Super-God Masterforce cartoon

Lobclaws were among the Seacons which accompanied Decepticon Pretenders Dauros and Gilmer on their mission to the Karin Islands. Autobot Pretender Diver spotted a Lobclaw in the waters around the island chain, tipping the Autobots off to the Decepticons' activities there, and Metalhawk soon arrived to help take down a swarm of Lobclaws in the island jungles. Terror! The Decepticons' Manhunt The Decepticon Pretenders later unleashed Lobclaws in Tokyo, which kept the Autobot Pretenders busy while both factions' newly created Headmaster Juniors had their first battle. Birth! Headmaster Jrs

Lobclaws subsequently participated in a few battles in America; one accompanied the Decepticon Headmaster Juniors in an attack on an American city, where Shūta Gō and Cab managed to break off its own claw and use it to stab the Seacon, Rage!! Little Devils with No Need for Rules while more of them backed up Hydra and Buster when they attempted to publicly discredit Autobot Godmaster Ginrai. Eliminate the Godmaster Ginrai

With the debut of the Seacon commander Turtler on the battlefield, at least one Lobclaw would usually be present in order to combine with its leader as the right arm of the giant King Poseidon. The Seacon combiner battled Ginrai on an island off the coast of America Heroism!! The Birth of Super Ginrai and in Canada, Lightfoot: A Dramatic Encounter but they didn't even get the chance to combine before they were wiped out in a clash in the French village of Dagneux. Assemble! The Four Godmaster Gunmen A swarm of Seacons backed up the Decepticon Pretenders in a battle on Atlan Island, where a Lobclaw had the misfortune of going up against Ginrai's Atomic Fire Guts attack and losing explosively. Save the Little Girl! The Chōjin Warriors, the Godmasters

Every Red Lobster chef's worst nightmare.

Lobclaws were among the swarms of Seacons that besieged British Motors alongside Hydra and Buster and were destroyed by the Autobot Godmasters, Life? Death? The Desperate Lightfoot and vast numbers of them attacked Lightfoot in the waters off the coast of Australia when the Autobot investigated the Decepticons' activities in the area. Escape!! The Underwater Volcano Erupts Numerous Lobclaws joined in the Decepticons' all-out assault on the Autobot headquarters, with a large swarm of them attacking Lightfoot, and one in particular receiving the honor of destroying the magma energy converter that powered the base, setting of a chain reaction that destroyed it from within. Disaster! The Autobot Base Explodes Later, more of the sea-beasts joined in occupying the Autobots' attentions when the powerful Decepticon BlackZarak began cutting a swathe of destruction across Earth. BlackZarak - Destroyer from Space

When Ginrai approached Decepticon Base in order to rescue his captive comrade Shūta, several Lobclaws were patrolling the perimeter and attacked him, forcing him to blast out the base's airlock, sucking himself and his opponents inside. Subsequently, a Lobclaw was always handy for the formation of King Poseidon, inside the Decepticon base, God Ginrai: Showdown at the Decepticon Base in a battle on its roof, The Ultimate Combination!! BlackZarak, the New Lifeform in the Grand Canyon, Autobots! Desperate Attack!! and in the Alps, where the Seacons had their final battle with Ginrai, and were once again defeated and destroyed. Malevolent and Inhuman! The True Form of Devil Z Whether or not any Lobclaws remained on Earth following the destruction of Decepticon emperor Devil Z and the departure of most of the Transformers from the planet is unknown. A Battle... and Then...

Zone cartoon

Years after the Masterforce War, the Seacons, including one Lobclaw, were recruited by the supernatural new Emperor of Destruction Violen Jiger. Although they never appeared in their individual forms, as King Poseidon, they attacked Earth in search of the Zodiac and were destroyed by the new Autobot Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas. Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!

Manga continuity

Super-God Masterforce manga

A Lobclaw was the first Seacon unleashed by the Decepticons, upon Ginza, Tokyo. The monster gave the newly created Autobot Headmaster Juniors a tough time, but Metalhawk soon arrived to dispose of the cantankerous crustacean. Headmaster Jrs Are Born Later, when the Decepticons attempted to dupe the Autobots with holographic images of legendary Decepticons of years past, a Lobclaw joined with its fellow Seacons in forming King Poseidon, only to be defeated by the new-born Super Ginrai. Burn, Super Soul! The New Commander Super Ginrai!

When Turtler led a Decepticon attack on the planet Athenia and merged with various other Decepticons to create "Scramble 7", a Lobclaw served as a hand-held weapon for the mis-matched combiner, which was soon destroyed by Ginrai. The Battle Begins! The United Earth-Space Troops

Zone manga and story pages

The Seacons, including a Lobclaw, were recruited by the supernatural new Emperor of Destruction Violen Jiger. Appearing only in their combined form of King Poseidon, the team battled the Autobots on the planet Wall, Zone story page #3 and were later defeated by the new Autobot commander Dai Atlas when they attacked Earth in search of the Zodiac. Zone It is unclear if the Seacons survived their clash with Dai Atlas; they did not reappear, suggesting they may have been destroyed, but Predaking and Trypticon, who were also blasted by Dai Atlas, were both shown to have survived the experience. Zone story page #6

Toys

Super-God Masterforce

• Lobclaw (Seacon, 1988)
  • Japanese ID number: D-315
  • Accessories: "Cannon Gun", "Tripod Rifle", connector, weapon stand base

Lobclaw transforms into a green and grey robotic lobster-monster, armed with a grey "Cannon Gun" which can mount in its creature mode mouth, or in the robot's fist. The gun also forms the barrel of Lobclaw's third mode; an artillery emplacement that mounts on top of a stand formed from three individual components. The central piece of this stand, the "Tripod Rifle", can also be wielded as a weapon by robot-mode Lobclaw.

Lobclaw combines with his fellow Seacons to form King Poseidon. Although he nominally forms the right arm of the super-robot (somewhat awkwardly, given his intrusive legs and claws), as a Scramble City-style combiner, Lobclaw can form any limb for King Poseidon (or any other combiners that use the Scramble City-style design). Like the other small Seacons, Lobclaw can also be used in his artillery mode as a hand-weapon by King Poseidon.

This mold was released concurrently in Hasbro markets as Nautilator, with no notable differences between the two. It would later be redecoed for the Transformers Collectors' Club exclusive Piranacon giftset.

• More information on Lobclaw (well, Nautilator) at TFU.info

• King Poseidon (Gift set, 1988)
  • Japanese ID number: D-318

Unlike the Hasbro Seacon box-set, which excludes Nautilator, the Takara King Poseidon box-set comes with all six members of the team; Turtler, Lobclaw, Gulf, Kraken, Overbite, and Tentakil. The individuals are identical to their individually boxed releases.

Generations

• Lobclaw (2019)
  • Accessories: Laser gun, hatchet, tail/gun, combiner hand/gun mode handle, hand gap filler/gun

Generations Selects Lobclaw is an extensive retool of Power of the Primes Deluxe Class Terrorcon Blot, transforming from a robotic lobster-monster to a robot. He is able to form any limb or a large Targetmaster weapon for King Poseidon. He, like all the other Generations Selects Seacons, have newly-tooled combiner hands with posable fingers.

Lobclaw will be released as a TakaraTomy Mall exclusive in Japan, and he can be bought individually or as a set with Kraken as one of the three 2-in-1 sets.

Notes

Melted butter won't help you now, Bill Cosby!!

• None of the Masterforce Seacons were ever depicted in robot mode in the cartoon or manga. The toy's package art is the only known "fictional" depiction of a Lobclaw in robot mode.

Foreign names

• English: Nautilator (Shout! Factory sub)
• Mandarin: Tiě Qián Xiā (铁钳虾, "Iron-clamp Shrimp")